Author : Laura

It’s not exactly been the Spring that I had planned. In fact, so far from what I planned that it’s only now that things plateau out that I can reflect and take it all in. If you follow Hero on social media you will have seen that we moved premises to a much larger, more prominent shop on the high street and this process has quite literally swallowed me up (hence a mute blog!).

When I set the business up last September I could never have imagined that the next several months would take the course they have. Business, as in life, comes with huge highs and times when you just need to dig deep and trust your instincts. It can be tough. But I have come to realise that creating your own business comes with the responsibility of tough decisions, risks and ‘fly by the seat of your pants’ moments that culminate in sleepless nights, mental turmoil of whether what you’re doing is ever the right thing and hopefully in the end a deep sense of satisfaction and achievement. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

However, it all comes with compromises and sacrifices and as anyone with a business of their own and a young family would say, something has to give. You can’t be everything to everyone all of the time. So, after two years of being in this place with My Pollyanna I have had to admit defeat and decide that I can’t maintain the blog how I want to. It doesn’t represent who I am anymore.

It’s only fair now that I put all my energies into Hero and my family. It’s no exaggeration to say that writing this blog has changed my life. I have met some wonderful people whom I now call friends, experienced unimaginable things (photo shoots, press days and London Fashion Week with Jimmy Choo – crazy!). I’ve learned so much about myself and life and created my own business that I can safely say would not have happened had I not started writing the blog.

A huge thank you to everyone who has ever taken time out of their day to read My Pollyanna and please continue the journey with Hero.

Thank you…!

Laura xx

Here are some of my favourite moments…

{ a photoshoot with Donna Ida Denim in Belgravia }

{ London Fashion Week with Jimmy Choo }

{ Meeting Ailie who worked with me at Hero for 9 months. Sadly Ailie and I aren’t working together any longer but I wish her all the luck in the world. Ailie is a very talented lady and has the world as her oyster now. }

I’ve definitely got that Friday feeling today. Finally it feels like Spring is here (even if there is a little chill) and in the shop the sunshine playlist is in full swing! Hero has had a really exciting week hosting our first event – a calligraphy workshop with Betty Etiquette. Holding events was always part of the plan with Hero, a way of creating a lifestyle and not only selling clothes and accessories.

When we came across Becci from Betty Etiquette we knew straight away she was perfect for the Hero lifestyle. Living in such a digital age, which we are thriving off, it was a refreshing thought to take things back to basics.

After an hour of excellent tuition from Becci we were all able to scribe a few words and patterns and the relaxation and therapeutic qualities of calligraphy should never be underestimated… no-one could believe how tranquil the atmosphere was and with the sunshine streaming there were happy vibes all round.

Time to eat.

It went by in a flash but I can safely say that it was a truly lovely way to spend a Wednesday morning and I can’t wait to start putting together more events just like this. Thank you to everyone who came along and to Becci for being a wonderful teacher.

Well it’s been quite a week. The sickness bug hit and threw most plans I had out the window which means this week will be spent attempting to catch up…never a good feeling. I’m back to health but struggling a bit to find energy. Florence (my youngest daughter) was hit the hardest with the bug but since it was her birthday on Friday she seemed to pull enough strength together to have her birthday party (what five year old wouldn’t?!).

I love planning and organising these things (sometimes more than the event itself) and this year with lots of other things going on I wanted some of the pressures of a party taken away so I decided to go for a venue that would provide the food. Our local pizza and mezze restaurant in Stockbridge, Woodfire was perfect. A light, bright room big enough but cosy enough for 14 little ones.

This year the theme was FUN – bright, bold colours and as far away from anything Frozen as possible. I headed to Tiger for the decorations, with a little help from The Hambledon for the honeycomb characters and Happy Birthday gold glitter banner. Bright balloons and a couple of vases of multi coloured tulips and we were done.

Tiger was also great for the party bags. Some colouring, a hawaiian necklace, rubber, stamp, cake and temporary tattoo filled the bags and fitted with the bright and colourful theme.

Entertainment was in the form of Crazy M. She was an absolute hit with the children and the adults and had us all in stitches.

Having the catering taken away made the party so much easier and to walk away at the end without clearing up…a huge bonus!

So with parties done and sickness gone (fingers crossed) focussing this week on Spring. I’m desperate to clear out my wardrobe and put away the winter knits and boots and bring out some colour. Let’s hope the weather plays ball.

After the technical debacle of last week (I couldn’t even log in to my shiny new blog let along publish the post that had so patiently been waiting to go live!) I’m finally back up and running – but playing serious catch up. There is quite a lot going on at the shop at the moment with the start of a new season and deliveries appearing all the time. This inevitably means a change around, but Ailie and I seem to have mastered the art of furniture shifting whilst the shop is open and have it down to fine art now (that’s what we think anyway!). There’s also a small matter of a five year old’s party to organise for later on in the week!

With such a big gap since I’ve blogged properly, I thought I’d share what I’ve been up to over the past few months…

James turned 40 and we took to the skies for a flying lesson. He loved it. I felt sick.

Ailie and I went to Paris for a buying trip for Hero. It was freezing and mostly wet but we loved pacing the streets for inspiration and finding new, exciting brands to have at Hero.

I got me a fringe! I needed a change and since I’d gone short last year (which I loved) I thought I’d give a fringe a go. I went back to see Lottie at George Northwood and although it took a few hours to get used to, I’ve loved it ever since. I’m back next week for the compulsory fringe trim but for time being, it’s definitely staying.

Stripping back to basic staples to create a minimalist wardrobe is always my ultimate style goal – an array of simple pieces of the highest quality that work for every occasion and every day. But in reality sometimes the line between classic staples and trend pieces becomes blurred and before you know it you’ve been sucked in to the latest trend which, let’s face it can add a bit of personality but can leave you a little empty after a while. Discovering a brand like Eileen Fisher you are reminded of just how beautiful the true classics are.

On Friday I had the opportunity of looking round the Eileen Fisher Autumn Winter 15 collection as part of London Fashion Week – prepare to fall in love with the basics. Minimalist shapes made of the most luxurious fabrics had me cooing and stroking at every turn. A muted colour palette layered with sumptuous textures to complete the ultimate in effortless style.

After the tour, afternoon tea was served and I was lucky enough to leave with an Eileen Fisher perfect white tee – in 100% silk. My absolute favourite spring staple.

If I’m ever unsure what look to go for I think you can always rely on a soft white tee with denim for a timeless, classic look. I’ve styled it here with a classic black jacket {mine’s really old from Massimo Dutti}, Nobody high waist skinnies, Nike Internationalist trainers and statement necklace from Hero.

Life changes and evolves and what I’ve come to realise is that you never really do get things 100% sorted. In fact it’s much easier to accept a situation and just move on, go with the flow. It feels like most things I do now are stripped back and made as simple as possible, exactly for this purpose. I eat better (huge thanks to the Hemsley sisters for this!), I spend better quality time with my girls and I’m more productive in the time that I have*. It just took a little get used to!

Although the blog has been neglected for a few months, it’s always been in my mind and niggling away at me. The thought of not doing it again just didn’t sit well or really make sense. It just had to work for me and my new life with Hero.So I decided to wipe the slate clean and start afresh. And here it is – a new look blog. It’s feels much better to me, easier to breathe with much less going on. No adverts, no complicated menus and categories (or at least that’s the idea!) just simple blog posts that you can read without clicking through.

I’ll only be blogging once to twice a week but it means I get to share what’s going on at Hero and anything else that feels right at the time – which I think is what a blog is really about isn’t it?

I’m really pleased with the new look and I hope you like it too. Have a great week.

Last week I could resist no longer the Jemima Vine red slipper loafers. They’d been staring at me in the shop for a couple of weeks and so I went for it. I was going to go safe with the python (which are equally as beautiful) but went for the less safe option of the red and have not looked back. I’ve worn them with my coated jeans and a chunky knit to add a pop of colour and been completely surprised with how much I can wear them with. Today I’m wearing them a tartan shirt and skinny jeans.

I’ve worn them here with my Nobody high waisted skinnies and tweed coat.

Same goes for my new embellished denim shirt. I’d had my eyes on the one from J.Crew last year but didn’t want to commit to the £££ price tag. Then I saw this earlier in the week from H&M and it was perfect and the ultimate bargain at £29.99.

More Christmas work at Hero this week with a video coming up of our favourite picks of Hero goodies. Have a great weekend!

The first proper Winter’s day had me a little (very) excited yesterday. Bright blue skies and icy, frosty windows (our boiler has broken!) had me routing around for all my favourite winter wardrobe items and I managed to pull them all together in one outfit. Layering is always my favourite way to stay warm as I just can’t bear feeling the slightest chill.

So on the 3rd November I undertook the Whole 30, 30 day detox. I’ve felt like I’ve needed to do something drastic with my diet for a long time. I’d been surviving on way to much sugar and not at lot else. My week would be made up of healthy breakfasts of eggs and spinach and other days of marmalade on toast, finished off with a mug tea.

I’d then fill up in the morning with two cappuccinos and throw in a pastry for good measure. Skip lunch and gorge on sweet treats like biscuits, chocolate or those irresistible mini cake bites you buy in tubs. Pick at my girls’ tea (sometimes deliberately cooking more so that I could snack) then eat my own dinner later on. Always cooked from scratch and always including vegetables of some description but with a healthy portion of carbs too! The day would then be finished off with a satisfying amount of sweet things, as a treat you trust. I was never that heavy on the alcohol, apart from weekends.

This was pretty much my food diary for a good number of months. A constant cycle of “treating myself” where I believed I deserved it in some way, even if it was just because I was tired.

I felt utterly horrid. I am lucky with my genes and don’t put on weight too easily so this lulled me into a completely false sense of security. If I could get away with it then why not keep treating myself?! But I just knew I wasn’t healthy and was nowhere near performing my best everyday.

Then one day, one of my best friends Penny told me that she was about to embark on a 30 detox, the Whole 30. I was interested. I wanted a lifestyle change and the thought of detoxing my body sounded perfect. It also sounded hardcore. No sugar, no dairy, no beans, no alcohol, no grains…pretty much nil by mouth.

So after two days of positive thoughts of how good this was going to be and staying to the strict guidelines, I was feeling amazing. A constant level of energy all day – who knew that all those health gurus had been right all along?!! The high levels of sugar in my diet before was giving me huge highs then leaving me really, really hungry.

A breakfast of bacon, avocado and egg, replacing my tea with hot water and fresh lemon, followed by two cups of black coffee. Lunch of mackerel salad and some sultanas to snack on during the after noon and a dinner made up of meat and vegetables and I was flying. In some ways I hate to admit their right but I loved that I never felt hungry (my worst fear), my energy levels stayed constant and I knew that what was going into my body was healthy.

Ten whole days I did this for and then I folded. No one likes to think of themselves as a quitter but I had begun to really resent the program. Boundaries are great, being healthy is amazing but I missed all these wonderful indulgences. I had a measly slice of toast on Wednesday and yesterday I had a slice of pizza. There it is, failure.

But actually, I enjoyed it. It gave me immense pleasure and it realigned my thinking on the detox. I know I won’t get the full effect of the Whole 30 but it has given me boundaries and proven that I can change my ways. So, I’m going to stick to it and allow myself one treat a day – whether that’s a frothy, milky cappuccino or a slice of cake or glass of wine. Balance. That’s what we’re all after anyway isn’t it?!

Today we’re adding our Christmas section to the Hero website that’ll be full of gift ideas and of-course tweeting and instagramming. But most importantly I’ll also be deciding what my treat will be for the day…

Life has got pretty hectic the last few months and the blog has most definitely taken a back seat. I read an article in the Summer about blogging with tips on how to be better and there was one quote that really stuck. Elsie Larson, founder of uber blog, A Beautiful Mess said that

“It was never about not having enough time, but just not planning well enough”. She’s definitely right.

All the other elements in my life have been completely overwhelming the past few weeks and months that most of the time I’ve felt that I haven’t had any more capacity to think about something else. Because having my own business and two children is a whole new lifestyle change for me, I’ve also spent time getting used to how this is all going to work.

It has been an incredible experience and I wouldn’t change one tiny bit of it but there are times when I feel like I’m keeping several different plates spinning. Some of the time they’re all spinning but there are times when one will fall or have a wobble and I can just about get it back it again and other times when I feel like half of them have fallen off the stick. But that’s life I suppose, everyone’s busy and everyone has their own priorities.

It’s not my intention to make this post one long excuse but it’s probably more a cathartic exercise to get some focus back on the blog and feel like I can still do it! It seem easy for me to lose confidence in what I’m doing if I don’t do it for a while. But the blog is where it all started and it’s an amazing world to be a part of.

As for Hero, it has been amazing. So much more, so much better than I could ever have anticipated. But it would be great to make time for blogging again. I’ve learned so much about my own style since starting Hero that it seems right to get back to the blog. So this this my first step to doing it!

In other news, although it pains me to say it, I’ve also been feeling so much healthier after undertaking a detox. Details coming later in the week….